To create a new file

• Choose File > New Database ( Figure 3.35 ). A new database with no fields or records will appear.

  Figure 3.35. To create a new file, choose File > New Database.

  

Closing a file

Because FileMaker automatically saves your data, closing a file is simple. You can close a file several different ways.

To close a file

• Choose File > Close ( Figure 3.36 ). The keyboard equivalents are: (Windows) or (Mac).

  Figure 3.36. To close a file, choose File > Close.

  

  or

  Click the close button in the record's upper-right corner ( Figure 3.37 ) or click the FileMaker icon in the upper-left corner of the menu bar and choose Close ( Figure 3.38 ).

  Figure 3.37. To close a Windows FileMaker file, click the close button in the upper right of the document.

  

  Figure 3.38. You also can close a Windows FileMaker file by double-clicking the FileMaker icon at the far left of the menu bar.

  

  Click the red button in the left corner of the record's title bar ( Figure 3.39 ).

  Figure 3.39. To close a Macintosh FileMaker file, click the close icon in the upper left of the document.

  

Saving files

Though FileMaker saves your work as you go, you may want to make a copy of a database right before making a lot of changes to the original.

To save a copy of a database file

To quit FileMaker

• Choose File > Exit (Windows) or FileMaker Pro > Quit FileMaker Pro (Mac OS X) ( Figure 3.42 ). The keyboard equivalents are: (Windows) or (Mac).

  Figure 3.42. To quit FileMaker, choose File > Exit (left, Windows) or File > Quit FileMaker Pro (right, in Mac OS X).

  

Tip

• If you don't quit FileMaker properly (for example, your machine crashes), the next time you open a FileMaker record the program will pause to run a consistency check. This takes only a moment, and then FileMaker is usually ready to go.

Part II: Working with Existing FileMaker Databases